A large roundabout is proposed for the intersection of Bayfront Highway and Waianuenue Ave in Hilo, image from the Draft Environmental Assessment

(BIVN) – $17.5 million in federal funds will be used to help construct a roundabout at the intersection of Bayfront Highway and Waiānuenue Avenue in Downtown Hilo, part of the $42.5 million in new federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the State of Hawaiʻi. 

According to a news release from U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, who is chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation: 

The funding will be used to reconstruct roadways adjacent to and at the intersection of Bayfront Highway and Waiānuenue Avenue to allow for a single-lane roundabout, ADA-compliant sidewalks and roadway crossings, drainage improvements, reconfiguration of parking, and other roadway improvements including new highway lighting, electrical infrastructure relocations, signage, pavement markings, pedestrian signals, raised crosswalks, landscape, traffic management devices, and other utility adjustments. In the past two years, this intersection saw three collisions and one tragic death, in which the police cited lack of bicyclist infrastructure as the reason for the cyclist’s unfortunate death.

$25 million will also go towards the Salt Lake Boulevard Complete Streets project in Honolulu. 

Sen. Schatz’s office worked closely with the Hawaiʻi DOT throughout the grant application process” to ensure the state submitted a strong, competitive application.”

“This new federal funding will help make streets in Hilo and Honolulu safer for everyone – drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians,” said Senator Schatz.

image from the Draft Environmental Assessment for the Hilo roundabout

An environmental assessment produced one year ago examined the potential impacts of the Hilo roundabout project. At that time, the document said construction was expected “to commence in 2025 and take approximately two (2) years to complete.” Construction costs were estimated at approximately $18.4 million in 2022 dollars.